Susan
by A Jade Snowman
Summary: The Doctor hits the randomiser on the TARDIS again, leaving the destination to the choice of the TARDIS. What happens if they land in a year the Doctor never thought he would see again. 2164.
1. A Death in 2164

The Doctor pirouetted around the console, flicking switches with an ease that Amy had known from only him. Amy had one hand firmly on the railing behind her as she watched him; the TARDIS shaking as it normally did in the Time Vortex.

"Where are we going this time?" she questioned the bowtie-wearing man in front of her, grinning.

"Well, that is a very good question! I don't actually know!" he said, walking around Rory to hit a yellow trigger. "Using the randomiser today, haven't done that in a while, you know," he said.

Rory glanced at the yellow trigger warily. "Randomiser? You mean you actually have a randomiser!"

"Of course I have a randomiser! What kind of pilot would I be if I didn't give her a say in the choosing of where we end up every once in a while?" he said, stroking the TARDIS console, clearly meaning the TARDIS. The TARDIS made a little hum of acknowledgement.

Amy rolled her eyes at this, smiling all the same. The Doctor's first love would always me the TARDIS. That never would change.

The Doctor pulled on last lever, and the TARDIS landed with the normal _v-worp, v-worp_ of the brakes being left on, smiling at his two companions.

Amy crossed the room, the first to reach the door to outside for once, unlocking it and stepping outside, followed by The Doctor closely. Rory stepped out a few seconds later. She very quickly sensed something was wrong in the place they had just landed.

They were in London, but the streets were completely empty. Everything looked neglected, like no one had been around in years. Rubble of metal bars and glass lay on the streets. Amy subconsciously reached back grabbing Rory's hand. "Ok, something isn't right about this. London is _never_ this quiet. Doctor, where…- no, when are we exactly?" she asked, looking around the desolate landscape. She paused, waiting for a reply, but she turned to glance at the Doctor when she didn't get a reply.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor had gone ghost white, gripping the TARDIS door with a firm grip. His eyes looked suddenly very old again. If there was ever a moment where Amy could have described the Doctor as elderly, it was that moment. Instead of answering Amy's question, he turned and looked back at the TARDIS. "Why on Gallifrey would you send us here? Now?!" he said. There was an edge to his voice, something Amy had never heard in it before… panic.

Amy's hand dropped out of Rory's for a moment, and she walked back a few steps to the Doctor, gripping his arm firmly. "Doctor, when are we?! What's wrong?" she said, worry in her eyes. His panic was feeding into her worry. Rory watched from a few feet away, looking nervous as well, shuffling his feet.

The Doctor seemed to have forgotten Amy and Rory were there for a moment, because when Amy touched his arm he spun back around, looking at her, his eyes wider than usual, but he calmed down, mostly for her benefit. He didn't want to scare the ginger. He was still a shade paler than usual, but he sounded back to his normal self.

"Well, we happen to be in London… on Earth. Late 2164. Not a very interesting year…" he paused for a moment, before continuing. "And because it's not the slightest bit interesting, why don't we just head back to the TARDIS now, shall we, Ponds?" he lied, though he didn't seem to realized how obvious his quick lie was.

Amy and Rory exchanged a look, before looking back at the Doctor.

"Doctor, I'm not leaving until you share what the hell is going on in the year 2164 and that is…-" Amy was cut off by a loud, but familiar blasting sound from a few meters off. The Doctor relented," Alright, Alright! Dalek invasion! Right here, right now, but the younger, much more grumpy version of me is either here, in the city, locked in jail somewhere, or he's already long gone. Either way, we have to go before some time-altering… thing… happens!" he said.

Amy was looking at him with worry, "Doctor, if there is a dalek invasion…. Shouldn't we help?"

"No, there _was _a dalek invasion. It's already happened in my past, and it's against the rules to revisit it," he said, flashing an angry glance at the TARDIS.

Rory spoke up," There must be a reason we are here, or we wouldn't be here."

Amy smiled, nodding to her husband," Yea, he's right, Doctor. The TARDIS would have not brought us here without a reason," she murmured. She heard running footsteps, and glanced up to see a pair of people running down the street, their hands linking them together. It would have been almost nice if they weren't both holding guns in their free hands, and they weren't being chased by a very retro looking dalek. They looked young, only kids. The girl maybe 15, and the boy maybe 20 at the most. They were so focused on running, neither of them noticed the blue police box a few metres away. The boy turned suddenly, pushing the girl behind him, who shouted in protest.

"David! NO!"

But it was too late, he had turned, blasting one shot straight into the eyestalk of the dalek, but not quick enough for the dalek to send a shot at the boy, David. He spasmed once, before falling backwards into the arms of the girl.


	2. A Timelady Returns

The Doctor was frozen, locked between his natural urge to get as far away as possible to prevent a deadly paradox happening, and his other natural urge to help her.

Susan.

A range of emotions crossed his ancient eyes, and all he knew was he was running. But for once he wasn't running away. He was running _to_ his granddaughter. He heard Amy call after him, her footsteps following him, Rory's footsteps following him as well.

Susan was oblivious to the commotion around her. She had kneeled down, David's head resting on her lap. Tears in her eyes, she checked for a pulse, and her worst fears became real when she found no pulse in his neck. She let out a small whimper, sadness and fear settling in her heart like a cold stone. She felt again like she was alone.

The Doctor had made it to her side, instantly falling to his knees beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He knew he was mumbling something to her, something about being sorry about this, apologizing over and over for leaving her, for leaving her on a planet, and most of all for David's death. Susan pulled her gaze from David, looking up at the man who was comforting her. She didn't recognize him at first. She pulled away, looking at him as a complete stranger… until it sunk in.

She knew those eyes. She knew them better than she knew David's, but she was completely stunned for the moment. It was him. Her eyes widened, a similar range of emotions flicking past her eyes as she stared at him for a moment before diving into his arms, hugging him like she would never let go, crying in a confused mix of unbearable sadness and uncontrollable joy.

Amy looked at the pair, not understanding who this girl was. She had never before seen the Doctor react so strongly to someone she hadn't met. She stood a few feet away. She didn't know what to say, and quickly decided maybe it was best for her not to speak… yet. She glanced away, looking over at Rory. Rory was slowly making his way around the Doctor and the girl. He crouched beside David to check for a pulse. Amy smiled weakly. Rory was following his nursing instincts to make sure there was nothing that could be done to help David. He glanced up, meeting Amy's gaze and shaking his head slowly. The man was dead. He stood back up, walking back over to Amy. She gripped his hand again, looking at the Doctor again, who had stood up.

The Doctor helped up the girl, gently helping her to her feet, finally glancing at Amy and Rory watching them.

"Doctor, who is she?" Amy asked the moment she saw his attention was directed to her.

The Doctor looked at Amy and Rory carefully for a moment, his arms still around Susan, who was crying profusely still. He was trying to work out the words. He honestly never thought he was going to ever say them again.

"Amelia, this is Susan. She's my granddaughter."

Amy's jaw dropped slightly, her eyes widening in shock. Rory's expression was very much similar to his wife's.

She had always suspected the Doctor had kids. He avoided the topic completely whenever it came up, and the way he had avoided it… she assumed that his children were dead.  
She thought for a moment, remembering his reaction when they had landed. Maybe they really weren't supposed to be here for this.

Suddenly, there was another blast from behind them, and the Doctor whirled around, seeing another dalek coming toward them. "Everyone! Back to the TARDIS! Quickly!" he called voice clear and nearly back to normal. Susan looked in a slight state of shock, but she followed the Doctor all the same, straight into the TARDIS. Amy and Rory exchanged a glanced before they ran after the Doctor and his granddaughter. A shot from the dalek nearly hit Amy, flashing past her head by a few inches. She flinched, getting a bit closer to Rory before, her hand locked with his as they ran for their lives.

Rory ran through the TARDIS door first, Amy following. For some reason, she found herself pausing in the doorway, looking back. She suddenly heard a voice, a voice so faint that she would have completely missed it if she hadn't stopped.

_"Doctor…" _

It was like the wind itself had spoken. It was a female voice, she knew. It sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough for her to tell what it was. She was knocked out of her trance when Rory pulled her backward, shutting the door and locking it. There was the sound of a dalek blaster hitting the door which had been open only a second before.

Amy took a deep breath, glancing back at Rory. "Did you hear that?"

Rory looked dumb-founded. "What do you mean? The dalek death ray thing?"

She shook her head," No, not that. A voice. Female, calling for the Doctor from far away," she said. Rory gave her a worried look, the kind of look when he was about to give Amy a medical checkup.

"I'm not crazy, Williams," she said, before giving him a quick kiss as an end to the conversation, before turning to the Doctor again.

He was in a quick conversation with Susan, who was looking at the TARDIS nervously. She said the first thing that Amy had actually heard other than her screaming David.

"Well, you've certainly redecorated. I'm not too keen on the new design either," she said, sitting the chair behind the console. Her eyes were still red from crying, but she seemed to have gotten past the shock of everything that had happened. Amy watched the girl with curiosity. Was there some type of timelord-y code that prevented timelords from mourning for more than a day or two? She had never seen the Doctor stay in a depressed shell for more than an hour or two after whatever event had happened. She shrugged the thought of before she glanced over at the Doctor when he spoke.

"Yes… I have redecorated, haven't I? And I like this design better than the one we had when we just started. It's much more interesting. More spaceship, less white box with holes," he said, smiling at her earnestly. Susan frowned slightly at the Doctor.

"What regeneration are you on, Grandfather?"

"11"

"That explains a lot."

The Doctor pouted childishly," What do you mean?" he asked.

"You are a lot more…. Cheerful since I last saw you," she responded, smirking.

Amy watched the two talking, until the Doctor and his granddaughter talking with interest until he turned back to Amy and Rory, grinning. "Are you two just going to stand by and watch or join in the conversation?" he said jokingly, walking around the console, flicking switches effortlessly as he always did, sending them into the Time Vortex. He seemed very, very jovial, more than usual, even.

"Of course I am!" Amy said back smirking slightly. She walked forward to Susan, reaching out her hand to shake Susan's. Susan took her hand, gently shaking it. "I'm Amy Pond, so you know. The nurse behind me is my husband, Rory Williams," she said. Susan nodded, smiling.

Rory leaned against the railing, waving in a friendly way at Susan when she glanced over. He was still watching his wife, silently planning to give her check-up later.

The Doctor twirled around, pulling lever. "Alrighty, everywhere in the universe… where to next, Ponds, Susan?" he said, flicking a few switches. Susan gave him a surprised look. "You can actually get to where you want to land?" she asked. The Doctor again pouted childishly. "Of course I can! I haven't had problems like that since my 4th regeneration," he said proudly, flicking a few switches.

Susan smiled. There was still a hint of sadness in her eyes. _David would have loved this…_  
She shook the thought out of her head, waiting for the others to decide what their first adventure together would be.


	3. Nashville, USA

The Doctor shot a glance at Susan, his eyes showing worry for his granddaughter. He never thought she would ever be in the TARDIS with him again. He flicked switches expertly, typing in coordinates on the typewriter keyboard, pulling a few more levers before they came to a stop.

Rory steadied himself on the railing as the TARDIS shook as they landed. "So… where are we exactly?" he asked, walking over to the door.

The Doctor looked at the screen. "1945, America, if I'm right. Nice year. United Nations formed, height of the 2nd World War, women in the factories…" he said, rattling off facts.

Amy walked over to the door, but the Doctor called her back. She walked back over. "What is it?" she asked.

"You can't go out into the 1940's dressed like that! Go to the TARDIS wardrobe and get something more 40's," he said to Amy, glancing at Susan as well. "You need to change as well. No pants," he said, leaning against the console.

Amy glanced down at what she was wearing. She was wearing a mini-skirt and a green button-up top. She nodded in resignation, "I see your point," she said, before dashing off to the TARDIS wardrobe. Susan followed, entering a second after Amy did.

Amy was looking through a line-up of clothes, looking for something appropriate, finally locating a knee-length button-down dress in a dark red color. She found a tan cardigan and pulled it over her arms. Susan was in a different part of the huge wardrobe, and she quickly changed into a simple black dress with a rose pattern on the edge.

After changing, the two walked back to the console room, and the 4 of them walked out onto the street together.

"1945!" The Doctor announced on leaving the TARDIS. They seemed to be in a large city, and Southern American accents floated through the crowd. It took only a few moments for the Doctor to figure out where they were in America. "Oh lovely!" he said, grinning. "Nashville, Tennessee, America! Bit boring, but at least we didn't land anywhere that was going to get bombed." He said. Susan was looking around with curiosity in her gaze, smiling cheerfully.

Amy slid her hand into Rory's, looking around as well. People bustled around, mostly women in dresses similar to Amy and Susan's. "Most of the men were drafted for the war. It's the first time women were forced to run get jobs. In the 30's, most women stayed home and raised the kids, did the housework…." He stated; hands in his pockets, Susan sticking close to his side.

Amy smirked, "I can't believe women just stayed home then. Times have changed a lot," she commented. She looked around for something interesting.

Rory glanced around hearing music coming from somewhere. It sounded like a trumpet. "Much more musical here than in London," he said. "And loud," he added.

Amy nodded in agreement, spotting a girl with shoulder-length brown hair in the distance, playing a fast cheerful medley on the trumpet with skill. A grey top hat sat in front of her for tips.

The Doctor opened his mouth to make a comment, but Susan stole the words from his mouth. "Even by this time, there are still some who are struggling for money after the Great Depression 16 years ago… more so in places like this," she said. It seemed the Doctor and Susan were having a 1945 fact contest, but Amy was quickly bored by it, looking at the girl as they passed. She looked about 23 at the most.

Amy glanced at the Doctor, before stopping in front of the girl. She looked in the pocket of the dress, finding an American $5 bill and a few euros. She checked the date on the bill to make sure it wasn't from the future, before dropping it in the hat. The brown-haired girl paused in her song, looking at Amy, her brown eyes meeting Amy's for a second.

"Thanks, Miss!" she said cheerfully, winking before going back to playing. Her accent was, to Amy's surprise, not American, but Northern English. Amy returned with a smile, before walking quickly to catch up to the Doctor, Rory, and Susan.

When Amy caught up to the group, they were walking through a small park. It was empty, except for a couple sitting on a park bench a few meters off. Apparently, the Doctor had gotten ice-cream in the short space of time she was gone, and Rory handed her a strawberry cone. She nodded thanks, licking the ice-cream as they walked around the park. The Doctor and Susan were pointing out things as they walked past, telling what had happened and what would happen in different places.

"Alright, Doctor… why are we here? You always have a reason for taking us places, unless it involves a randomizer." Amy said bluntly.

The Doctor glanced over at Amy, pouting. "I could have just been coming to take everyone for a nice day out with ice-cream!"

"You never just take us out for nice walk with ice-cream," Amy said pointedly, licking the ice-cream. Rory nodded in agreement with his wife.

The Doctor reached into one of his pockets, tossing the physic paper to Amy. She caught it with her free hand, flipping it open. A note was there.

_"Bit of trouble with  
a cyberman. Take a  
look for me?_

_1945.  
Nashville, TN  
America._

_Sincerely,  
CO."_

Amy passed it back to him, tilting her head. "Who's 'CO?'" she asked, looking at the Doctor. He shrugged, "Haven't the slightest. There are a whole lot of things it could stand for…. Corporation, Colorado, Cobalt, Commanding Officer…." He said, shrugging," But I would be worried about the cyberman who is supposedly here."

Rory spoke up, "It could be a trap or something. You should've checked before taking all of us here," he said reasonably.

The Doctor was about to reply, until a scream split the air in the distance.


End file.
